Gymnázium Jozefa Gregora Tajovského, Banská Bystrica
Young people and society
HIPPIES
Patrícia Longauerová, 3.B
Michaela Pohančaníková, 3.B
Školský rok:2008/2009, Banská Bystrica
Obsah- Content
Uvod- Introduction
1 Jadro
2 The way of the Hippy 2.1 The Way of the Hippy
2.2 Hippy philosophy
2.3 Hippy activism
2.4 Landmark Hippy Events
2.4.1 The Summer of Love: San Francisco, 1967
2.4.2 Woodstock, 1969
3 Hippies´s lifestile 3.1 Fashion and Hippie
3.2 Hippy and druha
3.3 Sex, love and Hippie
4 Young and Old Hippie 4.1 The Old Hippie
4.2 Young Hippie
4.2.1 A Message to Young Hippie
Diskusia- Discussion
Záver- Conclusion
Zoznam bibligrafických odkazov
Úvod- Introduction
Young people and society
It is said that youth is the nicest time of one´s life. As a young person you are fit, strong and
have enough energy to face problems, in fact you do not think about any problems, you look
forward to every day in which you may try something new and people around you tend to
tolerate your faults because of your lack of life experience.
When speaking about young people we should be aware of the fact that there are two different
groups of young people – teenagers (13 to 19 years old )and those between twenty and thirty.
Both groups have something in common, but there are also differences between them.
Teenagers are a special group, they are not children any more, neither are they adults. They
are strongly influenced by their friends, reasonably influenced by their parents and partly
influenced by their teachers, but there are also youth culture influences that may be important.
As teenagers grow up, they develop interactions with people outside home, each of them
becomes an individual person with his/her own ideals. Teenagers want to live independently,
they oppose older generation so they often have conflicts with their parents and teachers.
Most of them attend secondary schools and prepare themselves for their future profession.
They spend most of their time at school or studying for the following school day, in their
leisure time they like getting together with friends, listening to music, playing computer
games and going to parties and discos. Most of them live with their parents, have to help in
the house and are given some pocket money to spend on cassettes, cosmetics and small
luxuries. Those teenagers who want to have their own money try to find a part- time job,
useful, it may help teenagers to prepare for their future( adulthood). Some teenagers
especially in the USA, but also in other European countries leave their family at the age of
eighteen and live with their friends in rented flats. Parents usually do not object because living
on one´s own may help young people to become responsible. Some people say it is better than
any perent´s advice.
Young people between twenty and thirty are a bit different. Most of them have finished
schools and have a job, so they earn their living. Their problems are different from those of
teenagers. They are adults and so they have to find a place to live. Many get married and have
children so they become more aware of social problems. They are more concerned about the
world- wide problems of poverty, diseases, the pollution of our environment, racial
discrimination, nuclear and chemical weapons and terrorism. They organize demonstrations
for peace (like Hippies, for example) and fight for equality.
Hippies started to developed in the 60th years. We would like to introduce you some
information about it. The reason why we decided to make this project about hippies culture is
simple- Hippies were very interesting people and they had own view on the world.
1 Jadro
2 The Way of the Hippy
MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR
2.1 The Way of the Hippy
What’s a hippie?
To answer this question, let’s see what defines a hippie. Some say it’s the way people dress,
and behave, a lifestyle. Others classify drug users and rock 'n' roll fans or those with certain
radical political views as hippies. The dictionary defines a hippie as one who doesn’t conform
to society’s standards and advocates a liberal attitude and lifestyle. Can all these definitions be
right?
My view is that being a hippie is a matter of accepting a universal belief system that
transcends the social, political, and moral norms of any established structure, be it a class,
church, or government. Each of these powerful institutions has it’s own agenda for
controlling, even enslaving people. Each has to defend itself when threatened by real or
imagined enemies. So we see though history a parade of endless conflicts with country vs.
country, religion vs. religion, class vs. class. After millennia of war and strife, in which
uncounted millions have suffered, we have yet to rise above our petty differences.
Hippies don’t impose their beliefs on others. Instead, hippies seek to change the world
through reason and by living what they believe.
To be a hippie you must believe in peace as the way to resolve differences among peoples,
ideologies and religions. The way to peace is through love and tolerance. Loving means
accepting others as they are, giving them freedom to express themselves and not judging them
based on appearances. This is the core of the hippie philosophy.
So being a hippie is not a matter of dress, behavior, economic status, or social milieu. It is a
philosophical approach to life that emphasizes freedom, peace, love and a respect for others
and the earth. The way of the hippie never died. There have always been hippies from the first
time society laid down rules, to Jesus, to Henry David Thoreau, to John Lennon, to you and
me. We believe there’s a little hippy in all of us. It’s just been repressed by our socialization
process. We need to find it and cultivate our hippie within. Only then can we reach our true
potential.
2.2 Hippy Philosophy and the Hippy Dream
So what do hippies want anyway? It's easy to criticize the existing system, but just what do
hippies have to replace it. But someone likes to think that hippies are bringing a message to
humanity. An urgent message. We need to change. Now!
We all want to change the world.
The Beatles (Revolution)
How?
That's the first step. Let's preserve what we have before greedy individuals and corporations
gobble it up.
Hippies want to reclaim their right to a healthy life and a healthy planet. We are all infected to
some degree with a disease that requires us to consume way more than we need to survive.
If all this greed had some noble purpose, perhaps it could be justified, but unfortunately it has
become an end unto itself.
Of course we all know that a perfect planet is unrealistic. People come to this planet to work
out their Karma. Human beings must live and learn by their mistakes. But we need to see
examples of how to live in peace and harmony before we can change ourselves. Christ and
Buddha were two such examples, and look at how many lives they influenced. This is
hippies´s dream. To live in harmony with each other and our planet. How close we come to
achieving it depends upon each person's willingness to change themselves. May we all see the
light
2.3 Hippy activism
At the start of the 1960s, civil rights was the issue of the day.
Civil rights and anti-nuclear protests often included marches, sit-ins, speeches and songs by
famous people, signs with slogans, and chants. These protests were always marked by
peaceful intent. If things got ugly it was usually due to police tactics or violent counter
demonstrations. The SDS, Students for a Democratic Society, got its feet wet in these early
demonstrations. They would later organize anti-war campus protests around the country.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
John Lennon (Give Peace a Chance)
2.4 Landmark Hippy Events
This chapter reviews some of the major events of the hippie movement. These events defined
the nature, objectives and results of their counter-cultural assault on the establishment.
Anyone who participated in these events shared at least some of the hippy beliefs, and should
consider themselves a part of history.
2.4.1 The Summer of Love: San Francisco, 1967
If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear a flower in your hair.
John Phillips/Scott McKenzie (If You're Going to San Francisco)
San Francisco has always had a different attitude marked by tolerance. During the late 1950s
and early '60s, it was a bohemian hangout. Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and other writers,
artists and musicians lived and partied hard in places like North Beach and across the bay in
Berkeley. In 1964, the University of California in Berkeley was home to the Free Speech
Movement. So it was the perfect setting for a revolution in style, attitude, and consciousness.
Things really started to develop when Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters held Acid Tests in
the area in 1965. These parties where Electric Kool-Aid (spiked with LSD), psychedelic
music by the likes of the Grateful Dead, and the first light shows appeared, was the spark that
lit a thousand candles. Those candles lit many more at events like The 1966 Trips Festival
which added guerrilla theater, mime performance, and body paint to the psychedelic ritual.
By 1967, things were really coming together, the music, the drugs, and of course thousands of
beautiful people. That year started with the "Gathering of the Tribes, the first Human Be-In".
Businessmen in the Haight began to realize that there was something going on in the city that
was attracting thousands of young people. They decided to actively promote the upcoming
summer as "The Summer of Love" to give business a push.
San Francisco is one of the most magnificent cities in the world. Golden Gate Park is the
cultural heart and gathering place. Just off the park's Panhandle, lies the Haight district. What
a scene it was in 1967, with fabulous psychedelic music, light shows, free flowing drugs, new
fashions, and young people everywhere. Haight-Ashbury tried to accommodate the influx and
developed according to the needs of these cultural pioneers. Many of these hippies were
runaways, and usually broke. Free clinics, free food (thanks to the Diggers), free clothes and
crash pads all helped what was an overwhelming situation. Since the vibe was loving and
sharing, you can add free sex and drugs into the mix.
But the hype went too far. They started doing Greyhound tours of the Haight. Small town
straights looked out of the bus windows upon something so alien, it was like visiting a
colorful, cosmic zoo, complete with running commentary. The media played it up, and the
kids came in droves to be a part of the scene.
On June 16th, the Monterey Pop Festival drew national attention by showcasing the San
Francisco sound with groups like the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company
with Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and the Jefferson Airplane. Both Janis & Jimi were relatively
unknown until their legendary performances at Monterey. On June 21st the hippies held a
Summer Solstice party in Golden Gate Park. By June 25, the day the Beatles debuted the
song, "All You Need Is Love" on T.V., 100,000 flower children were gathered in the HaightAshbury area living it. On July 1st, the Beatles LSD inspired Sgt. Pepper album hit # 1. On
July 7th, Time Magazine's cover story was "The Hippies: The Philosophy of a Subculture".
On August 7th, George Harrison paid the Haight a visit with his wife, Patti. On Aug 26th,
Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" hit the charts.
Surely something cosmic was happening. (Please read the chapter "The Astrology of the
Hippy Movement" for a possible explanation of the forces at work during the summer of
1967).
The Haight at its peak was the center of an LSD fueled revolution in consciousness, music,
art, fashion and lifestyle. The novel experiments that were tried during these years were not
failures. They opened doors through which we discovered our true selves and our common
humanity. Sure there were bad trips, rip-offs, diseases, run-ins with authority, but these were
isolated incidents and a small price to pay for being part of a revolution.
Within a few years, the media attention moved away, and so did many of the hippies. Some
went back home, some moved to communes around the state, some traveled to other hippy
havens. There was a gradual decline in the Haight Ashbury area, but today it's come back
somewhat and now it's a nostalgic tourist attraction and once again a hippy mecca.
2.4.2 Woodstock 1969
Possibly the most defining moment of the Hippy Movement was the Woodstock Music
Festival, held on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York on Aug 16, 17 & 18, 1969. Despite
organizational problems and major hassles, it lived up to its billing of "Three Days of Peace
and Music".
This event marked the peak of the flower power/hippie movement. Prior to Woodstock, there
had never been a concert with 70,000 people, much less 500,000. Originally planned to
accommodate about 100,000 people, organizers did their best to deal with the growing horde.
But it was the horde itself, along with a few groups like the Hog Farm and the Merry
Pranksters who kept things under control. There were few if any policemen on the site, and
surprisingly they weren't needed! There was no violence either at the festival or in the
surrounding communities. No burglaries either. The worse crime seemed to be trespassing
which most people did to get to and from the site.
We all sang the songs of peace
Melanie (Lay Down)
The big attraction of course, was an outstanding music event. On the bill were Jimi Hendrix,
The Who, Janis Joplin, The Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills & Nash (in their second public
performance), The Grateful Dead, Santana, Joe Cocker, Ravi Shankar, Richie Havens,
Creedence Clearwater Revival and many more popular musicians of the day.
We must be in Heaven!
Wavy Gravy
The flower children didn't let the heat, rain and mud dampen their enthusiasm. Like the
organizers, they too were unprepared. Some had to walk 20 miles to get to the site since the
N.Y. Thruway was closed. Many didn't bring enough food or drink for three days, and it was
nearly impossible for trucks to get to the site to resupply the vendors. To get through, they
shared everything, their food, their drink, their drugs, their shelters, even their clothes. They
stuck it out, got off on drugs and each other, grooved to some of the best music ever, got lost
in space, and found themselves part of a magical moment in the history of a movement.
Woodstock, like the sixties themselves can never be repeated again. Attempts to capture the
spirit and feeling fall short, leaving us to wonder just what was it about this event, and the
people involved that made it so special.
3 Hippies´s lifestyles
3.1 Fashion and Hippies
At the risk of seeming trite, we shall now delve into the superficial world of hippy fashions.
Please bear with me as you will see it leads us to some very interesting places.
Today, the fashion world has once again discovered the wonderful styles from the '60s. We've
come full circle and clothes are not the only part of hippiedom to resurface for the new
millennium. It's a symbol of the resurgence of hippie values in our culture.
In the '60s, without warning, hippies turned fashion upside down and inside out. They brought
a tsunami of new styles and colors into fashion like never before. From the Haight-Ashbury to
London to Katmandu, the hippies took fashion on an eye-popping psychedelic journey.
The fashion rule in the '60s was that there were no rules. Anything went as long as it wasn't
based on the drab, conservative styles of the early '60s. I doubt if fashion designers were able
to keep up unless they dropped acid. The only thing they seemed to be able to influence was
the miniskirt. This is because many of the hippie fashions were based on traditional designs
from India, Nepal, Central America, Bali and Morocco.
Many new fashions emanated from San Francisco and London to some extent. The fashion
leaders were the icons of our day. Rock 'n roll stars like Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles
appeared in public and on record albums in all sorts of colorful costumes..
Of course your average hippie couldn't afford to shop like a rock star. Our stores were less
like Harrod's and more like the Salvation Army. Nevertheless we were able to piece together
something from bits of cloth. It was easy to take an old pair of blue jeans, holes and all, and
just put some bright patches over the holes. If they didn't fit, you could open the seams and
insert a triangle of something else, thus giving you flared bellbottoms. A cheap bandanna, an
old vest, some beads and you were the height of fashion.
The elements that went into the hippy wardrobe were only limited by our psychedelic
imaginations. Bellbottoms ruled the day, from striped, to blue jeans to patchwork, to hip
huggers, even leather pants were popular. Tops ran the gamut from Nehru shirts, to brightly
colored African dashikis and Middle Eastern caftans, to halter tops, tie dyes, and frilly, silky
shirts for men! Women wore saris from India and sarongs from Bali and Java. Velvet, leather,
batik, denim, Indian cotton and silk were all popular fabrics. Op art, paisleys and psychedelic
designs appeared on clothes, occasionally making us dizzy! Footwear ranged from the basic
sandal and Birkenstocks to zippered boots, platforms and bright patent leather shoes. Peasant
dresses, long skirts and layering were also very popular.
Then there's that symbol of women's sexual freedom (or slavery), the mini-skirt! It was
designed by Mary Quant in 1965, and was responsible for the huge surge in pantyhose sales.
Along with see-through blouses and braless breasts, it's no wonder there was a sexual
revolution.
Accessories included love beads, bandannas, leather vests, jackets with frills, and granny
glasses. Jewelry, especially if made of silver from Mexico, India or Morocco was essential.
Bangles, rings, earrings, nose rings, and ankle bracelets were worn, especially for parties or
concerts. Necklaces were adorned with peace symbols, raised fists, yin-yang symbols, and
other eastern esoterica. Hats ran the gamut from tall Jamiroquai numbers (John Phillips liked
'em) to small head hugging Islamic numbers (Richie Havens). Fedora type hats were usually
decorated with feathers, beads or other colorful objects (Hendrix & Dylan liked these).
It's amazing how many of these things have come back into fashion over the years. At the
moment we are witnessing a complete resurgence thanks to so many movies like 'Austin
Powers' and 'The '60s'.
Let's not forget how we let our Free Flag fly! Men's long hair was symbolic of our disdain for
convention. Most hippies just let it grow, perhaps trimming it once in a great while. Blacks,
both male and female wore Afros, using Afro piks (combs) to tease their hair out to the max.
Men grew long side burns, mustaches and beards. Women stopped shaving their legs and
underarms (gasp!). Bras became a symbol of oppression and were considered too
symptomatic of how the power structure sought to control women's sexuality for any liberated
hippie gal to wear.
It must be added that no self-respecting hippie ever wore a logo of some corporation. This
was heretical to the hippy movement. It's no wonder so many kids today, sick of having to
conform to corporate ideals of fashion have instead sought out the Hippy Brand® of nonconformist, anti-establishment, revolutionary, laid back sportswear! No logos, no
commercials with sports figures, no multi-million dollar endorsements, no hype. Just cheap,
comfortable, easily repaired, second-hand clothes to give you the look.
There was fashion for the nose as well. Scents filled the air wherever hippies gathered, and it
wasn't just marijuana. Incense and perfume were standard accouterments of the day. The
flower children had to smell like flowers, with lavender, rose, gardenia, and other floral
scents. Patchouli was perhaps the most popular since it helped mask the smell of pot.
Sandalwood and musk were popular scents for men.
At home, on college campuses, in crash pads, and on communes hippies decorated their living
space with every sort of poster imaginable. These were large cheap and colorful and would
cover much of the wall space. Concert posters from the Fillmore, publicity posters or album
covers were the most popular. But some posters also made a statement about the residents'
political views. These included peace and love posters, antiwar, black power, feminism, and
posters that protested just about everything. A lot of the posters were just art from other
periods, Beardsley and Maxfield Parrish were two very popular artists. Tibetan mandalas and
yantras were used for decoration as well as meditation.
Most furnishings were imported and hippies fueled the huge boom in imported goods. These
included beaded curtains, large floor pillows, bean bag chairs, wicker tables and chairs, brass
from India, statues of Indian gods like Shiva, Ganesha, or Buddha, Moroccan carpets and
kilims. Headshops and import stores like Pier One succeeded thanks to hippies.
Prior to the hippies, most homes had maybe one dusty plant in a corner. With the back to
nature movement, hippies filled their homes with life. Sometimes there were more plants
inside than outside, creating a sort of jungle, often with ferns, vines, and other lush foliage
dominating rooms. Hippies loved to paint their rooms in bright colors and often added
rainbows, stars, even murals on the walls.
An essential part of any hippy household was the stereo. Hippies bought the best sound
systems they could afford. That is because the music of the era was so important to us. We got
stoned to it, we danced, we partied, we meditated, we had sex, we even tripped to the music.
In the early sixties music went from monaural (mono) to stereo which in itself was a
psychedelic effect that everyone could appreciate. Then there was quadrophonic (4 channel)
sound. Things went as far as quintophonic (5 discrete channels) which was popular in movie
theaters. I remember seeing the premiere of the rock opera 'Tommy' by the Who in a new
theater that hyped it's state-of-the-art quintophonic sound system. It was a mind blower.
Today it's close to the Dolby and DBX systems.
The typical hippy vehicle was a VW bus or van or bug. Small campers and even schoolbuses
were converted into living space for one to a dozen people. These were often painted (they
usually needed a paint job badly) in bright colors and psychedelic patterns, which sometimes
included flowers, peace signs, mystical symbols, even landscape paintings.
Food is an important part of every culture. Hippies developed their own cuisine, a mishmash
of Indian, American, middle Eastern, Mexican, Italian and Asian with an emphasis on
vegetarian. Cheap meals are the rule with soups, fresh salads, a hearty main course (with lots
of vegetables) and a dessert. Organic produce, especially from one's own garden is always
preferred. Fresh fruit juices and smoothies (usually with yogurt and fresh fruit - similar to
Indian Lassies, but improved upon by hippies) are great tasting, healthy treats.
Hippies helped popularize Indian food, especially curries and chapatis, dahl and basmati rice.
Asian foods like tofu, soybeans, tamari, rice crackers, miso and tempeh are now part of many
healthy American diets. We buy bulk foods like flour, grains, beans and nuts, sold by the
pound, not prepackaged and left on supermarket shelves for years. Whole grain bakeries all
over the country now offer a variety of multigrain breads which are far tastier and healthier
than the traditional American white bread. Yogurt, kefir, goat milk, soy milk are all nontraditional dairy products popularized by hippies. You can thank us for all of these wonderful
products being on the shelves.
Health food stores and cooperatives exist now in almost every decent sized town and city in
the U.S. This is directly a result of the Hippy fondness for health, quality and freshness.
Hippies helped promulgate the laws that regulate organic produce found in many states
(California & Oregon are good examples). Organic farming is now accepted as a regular
practice across the country. Ironic isn't it, since we've had to educate the brainwashed farmers
of America about the dangers of herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers and teach them
how to grow organically, the way it was done by their grandfathers. People think hippies are
unhealthy, yet we were responsible for the health craze that swept the country in the '70s and
'80s.
Holistic medicine, with origins in Asia, Africa, India, and native cultures around the world are
studied, taught and practiced by hippies. Some of these include herbalogy, homeopathy,
acupuncture, massage, reflexology, shiatsu, and ayurvedic medicine. Other things hippies do
to stay healthy on their own include hiking, Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation, fasting, sweat lodges,
hot springs and Sufi dancing.
The Broadway musical "Hair!" was noted not only for it's wonderful music, but for the big
nude scene. Going naked is one of the great freedoms that hippies discovered. Feeling the air
and water on your exposed skin is both thrilling and invigorating. Puritan values and modesty
be damned! Hippies weren't about to compromise. Nude beaches, nude sunbathing and
swimming, nudist colonies, all proliferated thanks to hippies. Nudism puts us closer to nature.
It erases our sexual hang-ups and fears, by dissolving the psychological link between
nakedness and sex, thus letting us relax and enjoy the beauty of the human body.
Just the act of going barefoot is revolutionary for most people. Shoes confine more than just
our feet. Walking barefoot puts you in direct touch with the world around you. You're more
sensitive and aware. Your more vulnerable (watch out), but more open.
Hippies, ever concerned about ecology, were the first to promote biodegradable products, and
the use of natural ingredients in everything from fabrics to shampoo. We made sure that every
product ingested by Americans has a label indicating all its ingredients. We boycotted those
companies: whose products polluted the environment; used animals for testing; were prowar
or very reactionary; or manufactured dangerous chemicals or weapons.
It must be said that in general most hippies were anti-fashion. That is they rejected the
corporate nature of the fashion industry as well as the power of individuals to dictate the way
others should dress or conform to a set standard. The fashion industry was seen as part of the
Capitalist propaganda machine that kept us slaving to consume the latest fashions. This is
more true today than ever.
If it's not clothes, it's cars, toys, even our lifestyles that are marketed to us by demographics.
And with Internet shopping they can track our every move. Many hail this as a great
innovation, and the ultimate direct marketing tool. But isn't it just a more efficient way to
keep us imprisoned in a consumer nightmare? Like a glutton, we are fed more and more tasty
morsels until we are so fat with consumption that our lives serve no other purpose.
The hippies' rejection of prevailing fashion led us to explore other cultures and in doing so we
learned and adopted many concepts and practices alien to Western society. Much of what we
pioneered is now an important part of popular culture and thinking. Hippies influenced not
only clothes but a wide range of ideas and attitudes thus changing society in the process.
Of course another part of hippy fashion is the language of the subculture. English exploded
with many new words in the '60s. See the Glossary for a long list. And of course our music
turned America and the world on its ear. See Part II for the exceptional music we enjoyed.
3.2 Drugs and Hippies
In the 1960s the hippies, en masse, undertook the largest uncontrolled experiment with drug
use in the history of mankind. In those days it wasn't unusual to be handed a pill, and swallow
it with the only instruction "You'll dig it, it's groovy." You trusted your fellow hippy and you
wanted to get high and have a new experience. This was freedom. This was rebellion. This
was cool. We discovered that Pandora's stash box was full of drugs!
From laboratories in pharmaceutical companies, on college campus and bathrooms around the
country came a plethora of new drugs with names like LSD 25, DMT, purple haze, MDMA,
orange sunshine, synthetic mescaline, psilocybin, STP and many more. The purity and action
of these drugs got more dubious as time went on, as unscrupulous dealers sought to capitalize
on the drug craze. Along with methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, even heroin, hippies
tried whatever they could get their hands on.
If you can remember the '60s, then you weren't there.
Unknown
Why did hippies use drugs so extensively without concern? Let's look at the history of drug
use leading up to this situation. After World War II, the pharmaceutical industry exploded
with research into new drugs. They produced drugs to prevent disease, to cure disease, to
alleviate pain, to relieve upset stomachs, to keep you alert, to help you to sleep, to lessen
worry, to reduce hyperactivity in children, to remove the symptoms of psychological
disorders. Thanks to the industry's aggressive campaigns in the media and the doctor's office,
every medicine cabinet filled up with drugs for every sort of ailment.
So in the early 60s, drugs were not seen as evil. Yes, heroin was that bad drug that junkies
were addicted to. But all the rest were good and helped heal us, or at least made us feel better.
It's taken a prolonged, decades long, anti-drug propaganda campaign to undo the pro-drug
pharmaceutical company brainwash. Now kids are more confused than ever. Many eagerly
spout the politically correct line "drugs are bad," while they wash down their Ritalin with
caffeinated colas, then sneak a cigarette or a beer between classes.
Colorful fashions, several art movements and of course the incredible outpouring of musical
talent in the 1960s was directly due to the impact of psychedelic drugs. Having such open
minds, hippies were the ones who experimented with and experienced the insights these drugs
provide, thus unleashing a barrage of new ideas upon society.
3.3 Sex, Love and Hippies
Many people accuse hippies of being promiscuous, having wild sex orgies, seducing innocent
teenagers and every manner of sexual perversion. There's no denying that many hippies were
involved in temporary sexual relationships and sexual experimentation unlike any generation
before them. Yet this huge experiment with Free Love was an actual sexual revolution that
liberated millions of Americans from the prevailing puritan sexual attitudes and hang-ups of
the 1950's.
Free love made the whole love, marriage, sex, baby package obsolete. Love was no longer
limited to one person, you could love anyone you chose. In fact love was something you
shared with everyone, not just your sex partners. Love exists to be shared freely. We also
discovered the more you share, the more you get! So why reserve your love for a select few?
This profound truth was one of the great hippie revelations.
It's likely that many of the young kids who ran away from home and joined the hippie
movement were victims of child abuse. Hippie subculture thus rejected the prevailing moral
code due to the manifest hypocrisy of adults. The tools of teenage rebellion were sex, drugs
and rock and roll.
For hippies, sex was something spontaneous. If you met someone you were attracted to, and
the circumstances were suitable, you had sex. It could happen in a crash pad, in a van, in the
woods or at a festival. Free love was everywhere, but especially in places like communes
where sex was a commodity. Hippies didn't care what other people thought.
These things are a direct result of the sexual promiscuity that the hippies unleashed upon
society.
The puritanical inhibitions programmed by their parents, churches, peers and schools were
suddenly irrelevant. But the biggest release of inhibitions came about through the use of
drugs, particularly marijuana and the psychedelics.
The hippy reverence for nature and all things natural is part of the pagan belief system many
adopted. Pagans see sex as a joyful expression of our animal nature and not as something to
be repressed. Many hippie events resemble the pagan rituals of old. Music, drink, dancing,
and drugs are as much a prelude to sex as a celebration.
This breaking down of society's sexual mores by hippies led directly to the Gay and Women's
Liberation movements. Hippies brought sex out into the open, not as consciously as those two
movements did, but automatically, because of their experimentation with free love. In fact the
Gay and Women's Liberation movements are examples of what can be achieved through a
more refined agenda and better organization. Hippies take note!
So hippies freed Americans from their puritanical sexual inhibitions through the practice of
free love, experimentation with psychedelics, and rejection of the prevailing hypocritical
morality. This resulted in the free flow of information about sex, an expansion of women's
and gay rights, and society's keen interest in the health issues surrounding sex.
4 Old and Young Hippies
4.1The Old Hippies
Whatever happened to all the old hippies? The millions who rallied, marched, protested,
chanted and boycotted? Are they now just rebels without a cause? Or have they turned into
apathetic yuppies? We must ask these questions, because now is the time for them to come
forth and accept the powerful role for which they are destined.
When they were young, their ideals motivated their to challenge the system. They wanted to
change everything, to correct the wrongs, to reveal the hypocrisies, to bring freedom and
equality to everyone, everywhere. Now hippies are older and presumably wiser, but are they
still motivated by such high ideals?
What happened to most of the old hippies? As they got older they married, had kids, got jobs,
took on much more responsibility.T
They became part of the system. Now it's up to them to rediscover their lost ideals and use
the power they now possess to act according to those once highly regarded principles.
4.2The Young Hippies
There's a whole generation with a new explanation.
John Phillips/Scott McKenzie (San Francisco)
What does this mean? It is means the time is right for the second coming….of hippies.
Get up, stand up! Stand up for your right! Don't give up the fight!
Bob Marley (Get Up, Stand Up!)
Young hippies feel discrimination, rejection, even humiliation from their peers. It's as
politically incorrect to be a hippy these days as it ever was.
Yet these young hippies continue to go out among their cohorts spreading the simple message
of love and peace.
Like the hippies before them, they long for community, and are willing to uproot themselves
from home and family to find it. Many are seeking out communes, forming drum circles,
starting websites, traveling around the country and the world, seeking freedom and
fellowship.
Many of these young hippies, amazingly are anti-drug.They see all illegal drugs as
"dangerous or deadly". Many grow out of this prejudice and open their minds. It's not
necessary to do drugs to be a hippy, but tolerance and understanding about drugs is essential.
So who are these young hippies?They're a very diverse group who arrived on the hippy scene
via different paths.
4.2.1 A Message to Young Hippies
Now is the time for all young hippies to come to the aid of our planet. Old hipies need young
hippies now.Old hippes can teach young hippies their ways. Together they want to discuss,
organize, prioritize, coordinate, motivate, and activate people.
They want to develop an agenda for the new millennium, save our planet, demand tolerance,
fight injustice, change the system. They want to be examples to others.
A friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself.
Jim Morrison
Diskusia- Discussion
Based on the investigation I could say main part of young people , who are listening to hippy
music do not really care about the roots and history of hippies. They want to belong to some
community and nowadays hippies is popular again. Hippies fashion is very popular and
represented by famous people. I think the reason , why the unstable fans exist, is their interest
in music and drugs is just developing and it is going to improve when they will become older
and stay by one genre of music. Then music become an inseparable part of life.
Záver- Conclusion
Hippie fashions and values had a major effect on culture, influencing popular music,
television, film, literature, and the arts. Since the 1960s, many aspects of hippie culture have
been assimilated by mainstream society. The religious and cultural diversity espoused by the
hippies has gained widespread acceptance, and Eastern philosophy and spiritual concepts
have reached a wide audience. The hippie legacy can be observed in contemporary culture in
myriad forms from health food, to music festivals, to contemporary sexual mores, and even
to the cyberspace revolution.
We was trying to come up with brief and understandable information about this culture.
Maybe then you will change your opinion on hippies community and music. How you can see
it is not just a group of drug users.
Zoznam bibligrafických odkazov
McWilliams, John:The 1960s cultural revolution, 2004
Hackim,Joy: Freedom a History of US: oxford university press, 2003
Outline of: U.S. History, 2005
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie
http://www.history.com/states.do?action=state&state=Hippies&parentId=1968
http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/hippies.html
http://members.aye.net/~hippie/real.htm
Sheidlower, Jesse (2004-12-08), Crying Wolof, Slate Magazine,
http://www.slate.com/id/2110811/, retrieved on 2007-05-07.
Harry "The Hipster" Gibson (1986), Everybody's Crazy But Me646456456654151, The
Hipster Story, Progressive Records, http://www.hyzercreek.com/harryautobio.htm.
The Mavens' Word of the Day: Hippie, Random House, 1998-05-21,
http://www.harmonybooks.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980521, retrieved on 2006-10-09.
peace and love, Miška a Paťka ☺ ♥ ♫ ♪ ☼
Enclosure
hippie…
“hippies in Atlanta! however did ...
The Beatles…
Hippie and music…
... to the hippies and Queen's Park ...
Summer of love…
San Francisco
happening in San Francisco.
Woodstock 1969
Fashion and lifestyles…+ Old hippie and young hippies
Hippie and drugs…
Sex, love Hippie….♥
The old hippie…
…hippie and peace and hormony and hippie…
I really like hippies, ...
For the love of god Hippies, ...
... a hippie.
Music and hippie…..♫♪♪